


Pon Farr For Orcs

by butt_muncher_seven



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: @ the rest of the critrole cast – I am so so sorry, Anal Sex, Caleb didn’t learn prestidigitation Pumat Sol gave it to him in desperation, I know Fjord/Jester is end game but let me have my dumb bara romance, Keeping plot points as vague as possible to protect against inevitable joss-ing, M/M, Made up holidays made up religion made up racial traits, Taliesen can read this I feel like he wouldn’t judge, and then he uses it for sex a lot but not enough for showering, call it a homebrew, in heat, it's pretty tame for heatfic though, just some filthy nasty porn from ya boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 09:03:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14375508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butt_muncher_seven/pseuds/butt_muncher_seven
Summary: Fjord loses track of the date and finds himself in a sticky situation. Caleb lends little more than a helping hand.





	Pon Farr For Orcs

When they reached the small town of Zimere, north of Zadash, after – well, after _everything_ , the townsfolk were cheerily decorating for the vernal equinox. They bustled around good-naturedly, humming carols and lighting festive lanterns. Long chains of willow branches and holly hung from the town gallows. 

 

“Shit shit fuck.” Fjord cursed, in a southern accent with oddly highbrow vowels. 

When the others turned to look at him in alarm, he was pale and wild around the eyes. He grabbed a nearby shopkeeper by the arm.

“What day is it? How many days til the equinox?” Fjord demanded before they could stop him.

“Woah there friend!” Molly stepped in blithely. “How ‘bout we let the nice man go?” 

“I-it’s tonight!” The man stammered. “I mean – today. I mean – tonight. The equinox moon rises tonight.”

“Wonderful, wonderful.” Molly replied as Fjord let the man go with a strangled cry of despair. Jester reeled Fjord in back towards the group. “Springtime blessings upon you my friend.” He clapped a gold into the man’s palm while shaking it merrily with both hands. 

“S-springtime blessings to you too.” The man touched the brim of his cap, wide-eyed, as they drew Fjord away. 

 

They bundled Fjord onto a bench in the city square and he went without protest, hardly seeming to notice. His eyes stared into the middle distance. He was annoyingly tall; Nott still had to look up to see his face. 

“Fjord, what’s wrong?” Jester wheedled. “Do you not like the equinox?”

When Fjord failed to answer, Beau chipped in helpfully. “You wanna explain your little freak-out back there, bud?”

“Well.” Fjord swallowed, still transfixed by nothing somewhere past Caleb’s elbow. “You know how I’ve been kind of grumpy past few days?”

The group agreed easily. It would have been funny if Fjord wasn’t looking so queasy. 

“Well. There’s a seasonal sort of explanation for that.”

Beau’s eyebrows furrowed, but Jester started to grin much too widely.

“Ohhhhh, I know what it is!” She cried out with glee. “Fjord, are you feeling the Bountiful One’s touch yet?” Are you feeling her tugging you by the –“

“Hnn.” Fjord cut her off with a slicing hand motion and a sort of strangled hiccup. He took a deep breath, mastered himself, and met their gazes. “You know how some animals have a mating season?”

“Yes..” Said Caleb, who had spent the most time around livestock.

“Orcs have kind of a similar deal. We – or that’s – people with orc blood go through a time around the equinoxes where we get –“

“Super super horny and they have to have sex all the time for like three straight days.” Jester finished for him, delighted.

“W- yeah.” Fjord sighed.

“Oh Oskar.” She gasped dramatically, batting her eyelashes in a pantomime of maidenly surprise. “Who of us will you take as your chosen one?” 

“For three days of straight fucking?” Beau spluttered .

“Not – all in a row, like. We take breaks.” Fjord replied helplessly.

“Damn.” She offered, impressed. The group’s energy shifted to focus on her.

“I’m not interested though!?” She looked round at them wide-eyed, spluttering. “I’m. _Girls._ ” 

“Well put.” Moll sniped. “Do you want it to be one of us?”

“I’d rather – outsource this, if possible.” Fjord kept his gaze on Molly, refusing to glance at Caleb to see how he was taking this. There was no way he could do that unnoticed and he was at risk of giving up enough secrets as it was.

“Do you have to sleep with someone?” Caleb inquired, academic curiosity coming through a little stronger than group concern. Fjord lost the battle and stared at Caleb.

“No..” Fjord trailed off. What was the question again?

“It’s really painful if you don’t though, right?” Jester supplied. Oh right.

“And it lasts longer. It’s an option, though. Might be the best one, around here.” Fjord returned to staring at the fountain, He rallied his remaining thoughts.

“We might have trouble finding a whore willing to spend three whole days on you ‘round these parts, especially on short notice.” Molly sighed. “Even assuming we could afford it.”

“Yeah they don’t seem the most welcoming of other sorts around here.” Beau looked worriedly around the town square. They were attracting a lot of attention just by being there, and the other humans were throwing a lot of pursed lips their way. Fjord’s head felt light, foggy. He wondered how much longer he had.

“What we need to do is get to an inn, get me a room, and tie me up. We can go from there.”

“Tie you up?” Caleb asked, surprised. _That’s not interest, you just want it to be,_ He reminded himself sternly. Caleb wasn’t blushing, exactly, but he knew there was something eager about his eyes. 

“It’ll be the best way to avoid – incidents. I’m not dangerous, I’m just not – so socially adept.”

“He’ll be like, the drunkest, horniest, version of Fjord we’ll ever get to see.” Jester clarified. “For three whole days.”

“And you say this happens twice a year to you?” Molly inquired with a horrified fascination. 

“It’s not so bad when you have a partner.” He shrugged awkwardly. “I’m not gonna lie, it’s gonna suck without one.”

“So you’ll be basically just masturbating non-stop.” Molly offered.

“Pretty much.” Fjord said tightly, the nightmarishness of it all starting to sink in. 

Caleb was staring at him intently. Fjord wasn’t sure what to do with that, and realized belatedly that he was staring back. He tried to pick a normal place for him to look, but couldn’t remember what those were. 

“I’m not looking for a relationship right now, but thank you.” Nott said primly. 

 

They got Fjord to the inn without incident, even managing to arrange it so their rooms formed a slight buffer zone around his. No whores were available until nightfall. They paid the innkeeper double for their ‘sick’ friend and insured he wouldn’t be disturbed. They tethered his wrists to the headboard – Molly added the nice touch of padding under the rope with practiced ease – and went back to the common room without quite knowing what to say.

They huddled around their first round of drinks looking a bit shell-shocked

“So this is it? None of us are back there?” Molly broke the tense silence. 

“I’m surprised you aren’t up there, Jester.” Beau nudged her with her elbow. “Get a taste of that Tusk Love for real.”

“Yeah..” Jester mused philosophically. “ He is really attractive, but three days is a long time to spend stuck in a room with someone. Plus we haven’t been in a town for a while and I have a lot of things I want to do.”

“Nor you?” Caleb turned to Molly.

“What she said.” Molly tipped his tankard towards Jester. “I’d throw down a couple times and be glad I did but a man’s got to take chafing into account.”

They all laughed and a good deal of the discomfort fell away. 

 

By the end of the night they’d drunk a lot of drinks, pissed off several townsfolk, and had lot of fun at Fjord’s expense. Caleb assumed that, if Fjord were lucid still, he would be heartily aware of the fact. 

It was very late by the time they turned in for the night. 

“Someone should bring Fjord something to eat.” Mollymauk yawned, tail swinging more wildly than usual to keep balance.

“Is that safe?” Yasha asked softly, steering Beau towards the correct hallway.

“In the whorehouse people would bring orcs in rut stuff all the time. You have to be sort of gentle about it but he won’t hurt anybody.” Jester matched Molly’s yawn.

“It should probably still be one of us, though.” Molly hemmed, casting about for an employee to flag down.

“I’ll do it.” Caleb offered softly.

They all turned and stared at him.

“Rrreally.” Molly said consideringly, looking him up and down. 

“ _Yes_.” Caleb insisted, a little annoyed. 

“I could just _mage hand_ a tray in. Caleb, you don’t have to go in there.” 

Caleb knew he was blushing now. “That’s a good second option, _ja_ , but it will be better for you not to waste magic in case something goes wrong. We are already out one team member, no need to make it two.”

“I’m still good at fighting without my magic Caleb – “

“Let’s talk about it over here, little one.” Molly caught Nott by the elbow and pulled her away as the group moved out of the common room, leaving Caleb behind. 

Nott snapped like a cat pet backwards. “Caleb is selfless and good but he doesn’t need to –“

“It’s not always about _need to,_ sometimes – “

Caleb could hear them arguing as they went up the stairs.

 

He was able to flag the tired serving girl down without too much trouble, and tipped her extra for the tray of water, towels, a light meal, and a flask of oil. 

He made it all the way down the hallway carrying his tray without being noticed, though he heard Nott’s voice still conversing brightly with Jester. He sent Frumpkin in to join them and reassure Nott. 

He got to Fjord’s door without any trouble, the half-orc’s labored breathing just audible over the sounds of the village night. 

And then he froze. Staring at the door, he squared his shoulders, steeling himself. He could do this. Fjord wanted someone, anyone, right now, and he would be grateful. Caleb could put up with some light teasing for that. He showed he was loyal to the group, and also he got to sleep with Fjord. He doubted Fjord would want him for the whole time, but when the need was at its strongest Caleb could be a suitable stand-in. _Fjord had been a sailor, right?_ Caleb shook his head and took a fortifying breath. Fjord would probably be desperate enough to be interested in him. Probably.

 

Caleb opened the door one handed and stepped quietly into the dark room. He heard sniffing, and then –

“Caleb?” Fjord’s voice was already hoarse.

“ _Ja,_ it’s me. We thought maybe you would like some food and drink.”

“Oh. Right. Of course. You can just, leave that here..” He sounded strained but not upset. That changed as Caleb walked closer. 

“That’s – good. Thank you. Thanks.” His voiced pitched higher. Caleb heard him twitch bodily on the bed. 

“I also thought that you would maybe like someone to help you out a bit.” Caleb surprised himself with how calm that sounded. Fjord was clearly rattled, even in the dark, and that steadied him.

“I am going to make things brighter, one second.” Caleb summoned a bright light and sent it behind the curtain, casting rich strips of light and shadow across the room. He could see Fjord’s face now, squinting slightly against the light. He looked wrecked. His hair was ruffled, like he'd been grabbing at it, and a light sheen of sweat decorated his brow. His cock lay thick against his thigh.

“Are you sure?” Fjord was shaking with need.

“Yes,” Caleb insisted, a little annoyed. “I am here to help you.”

Fjord took a deep shuddering breath

“If. If you’re certain about this then – I get a bit. Territorial, like.”

“Uhuh.”

“I won’t want anyone else coming in. Or you going with anyone else. You – I want you to stay here.” 

Caleb gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I’ll stay as long as you want me too.” 

Fjord’s breath caught in his throat

“And I’ll leave when you want as well”

The ridiculousness of that statement made it hard for Fjord to parse. He gave an indignant snort when it did. Not want Caleb?  
Absurd.

And then Caleb was walking towards him, setting the tray gently down, looking at him sweaty, naked, tied to a bed. 

He froze like a startled deer, frantic not to scare Caleb away. Caleb undressed without art or seduction. He simply climbed onto his bed, and straddled his hips. Fjord hesitantly brought his hands down from where they’d been gripping the headboard and slid them up Caleb’s slim thighs until the ropes went taut.

His mind was barely his own any more, just a frenetic stream of sensory experience as Caleb touched his body with his own hands. His skin burned with memory where Caleb’s hand left it. Any other day and he could have sat for hours while Caleb trailed graceful hands across his body but it wasn’t _enough_. His head was fog and fire, barely able to register other sensory input when his cock was _right there_ under Caleb. He groaned and thrust his hips against Caleb’s weight. Tantalizing brushes of his cock on Caleb’s thigh tormented him. 

“Please. Caleb, please.” He wasn’t being specific but Caleb was clever, Caleb would know what he wanted. 

From Caleb’s smirk, he did. Caleb settled lower in his lap and started firmly stroking their cocks together. His hands were strong, warm, slick with oil from somewhere (was that magic? Fjord would have believed Caleb could do anything, at that moment.) 

“Is this okay?” Caleb asked uncertainly. “I don’t even know if you like men, but you didn’t say no when we were first discussing it and –“

Fjord realized he had gone rapturously still with pleasure again, which was poor manners for a bed partner. He sat up, seized Caleb’s face in his hands and kissed him passionately. Their bodies pressed together hot and slick, and Caleb gasped into his mouth. His hands on their cocks stuttered.

Fjord panicked briefly, _he’d done it wrong he’d scared Caleb away_ \- when suddenly Caleb melted into their kiss. The energy between became something different now. Caleb pressed into him, rutting into the tight space between their bodies as much as his own fist. One of Caleb’s hands slipped up to grasp tightly to his forearm. He was losing concentration in their kiss but he was unwilling to break it. This was perfection, this was everything he’d ever wanted, this was heat and light and -

 

He came. Stripes of cum shot up between them. He pulled Caleb closer, less concerned with the mess than with the fact of his cum dripping down Caleb’s belly. _Good,_ a primal corner of his mind asserted, and no other part of him disagreed. He buried his face in Caleb’s neck, breathing hard. Caleb slowed his pace until he was just gently grinding against Fjord’s lap.

“Are you done, then?” Caleb drew back to look at him.

“I can keep going.” He replied quickly. “I can – I would like to keep going.”

“Can I fuck you?” He added, voice rough even to his own ears.

“You aren’t as big as I’d feared but even so..” He weighed Fjord’s girth in his hand pensively, fingers not quite meeting around it. Fjord knew what he meant. 

“We can just do this, this is fine.” It nearly killed him to say it – every inch of him longed to be buried in Caleb. Every instinct he had was screaming at him to _take_ , to _consume_ , but this was Caleb, and he was not ungrateful. 

Caleb looked surprised. “It will just take some doing, is all I am saying.” He stroked Fjord’s cock slowly, root to tip. “I am not here to half-ass it.”

“I can have your full ass then?” He wasn’t completely sure it made sense, but then he’d probably said stupider things as dirty talk. He’d certainly said stupider things when he was like - this. 

Caleb snorted a laugh. Fjord loved him so much he thought his heart might burst with it.

He leaned in to kiss Caleb again, to draw him to him and keep him there forever but was brought up short by the ropes. He tugged at them fruitlessly, stymied. 

 

“Wait, wait.” Caleb caught a hand and started working on the ropes at his wrist. He paused. “If I untie you, you won’t go running off naked or something, will you?”

Fjord gave him a deeply unimpressed look. With Caleb naked in his lap, where on earth would he go? What he fuck would the point in that be? He reached for Caleb again and was again brought up short. _Right._

“Wait just a _moment._ ” Caleb muttered impatiently, pulling at the knot with clumsy hands, like a new hire fresh off the shore. He finally picked it apart and let the rope fall. Fjord moved to grab at him but Caleb caught his hand firm, checking the wrist for damage. This wasn’t quite what he wanted but he couldn’t deny the _niceness_ of being looked after. The hair on the back of his neck prickled with Caleb’s inspection. 

“There. You are fine. Molly knows what he’s doing.” Caleb dropped his hand to start on the other one.

Fjord growled at the mention of the tiefling. _He_ was with Caleb, fuck Molly and his good bdsm skills. Caleb look at him questioningly and Fjord pulled him close with one arm, kissing him deeply. Caleb kissed him back, momentarily distracted from his knot-untying quest. He stroked his hand up and down Caleb’s back, still holding him close. He leaned back against the headboard, pulling Caleb with him. Most of Caleb’s weight was drawn onto his chest and he quietly reveled in it. His bound hand was close enough now that he could tangle his hand in Caleb’s hair, holding tighter than he probably should. Caleb moaned. 

The sound brought him back the present, focusing his blurry mind. He slipped the hand not holding Caleb’s head down between his cheeks to press against his entrance. Caleb fumbled behind him for a moment before pressing a slippery vial into his hand. Fjord struggled one-handed a bit, but managed to liberally coat a couple fingers in oil. He pressed the first slowly into Caleb. He was tight, warm, and responsive. His hands clutched at Fjord’s shoulders. Fjord tried to listen to his breathing, feel the tightness in his grasp, to be attentive to his needs. It was – difficult. He kept getting lost in Caleb’s scent, in the way he relaxed onto Fjord’s fingers, in the feel of the thin skin of this throat under Fjord’s lips. 

Caleb seemed distracted too, though he managed to untie Fjord’s other hand. Fjord just kept it buried in Caleb’s hair before he remembered to stroke Caleb’s cock. He wasn’t – he didn’t want to exhaust Caleb, yet. _He_ wasn’t caught up in the heat of the Bountiful One’s embrace. And so he kept his hand light, enough to feel good without putting him in danger of coming. 

Caleb seemed to be more in danger of melting, which Fjord decided to take as a compliment. Clearly he was trusted. Caleb was slumped against Fjord’s chest, his arms limply hanging off Fjord’s neck. His breath was sweaty against Fjord’s neck. A stillness came over Fjord, like Beau when Frumpkin deigned to land on her lap, unable to move for fear of scaring him away. His cock was painfully, dreadfully hard, but moving seemed inconceivable. Fortunately, Caleb stirred himself before Fjord had time to reach a crisis of horniness. 

 

Caleb kissed him sleepily, reached back, and sunk onto his cock as though daring him to do something about it. Fjord nearly swallowed his own tongue. Caleb smiled blandly at him, amusement curling at the corners of his mouth.

“Is this not what you wanted, Fjord?” The sound of his name in Caleb’s mouth was something holy. He shifted, planting his feet on the bed. He thrust up into Caleb, sweating with the effort to keep it gentle. Caleb only allowed this for a short while.

“I am not going to break, you know.” Fjord looked up at him questioningly. Caleb slid his hands down Fjord’s chest languorously. “I thought you wanted to _fuck_ me.”

A complex bubble of emotion rose in Fjord’s chest, one he wasn’t entirely equipped to handle at the moment. Indignation, probably. Anticipation, definitely. _Feisty_ Fjord thought, and then cringed deeply. Doing, not thinking, was better for now.

Accordingly, Fjord tipped Caleb backwards and positioned himself more dominantly. He hefted Caleb's leg over his shoulder and entered him with purpose. As he began thrusting harder, Caleb had the nerve to smirk at him.

“This is more what I expected from an orc in heat.” Caleb tipped his chin up challengingly.

Fjord snarled and stopped holding himself back. He pounded in to Caleb’s welcoming body. His hands gripped Caleb’s hips bruisingly, his short nails doing a convincing enough impression of the claws they wanted to be. Caleb was twisting a fist in the sheets, biting his lip in pleasure. He was the most beautiful thing Fjord had ever seen. Fjord let go of his leg to bend in closer to Caleb. A hand came up almost unbidden to grasp Caleb’s pale throat. He found himself placing his teeth lightly where his thumb traced, feeling his pulse beating against his tongue. It wasn’t until Caleb pulled at his hair that he realized he’d bitten down.

“Sorry,” he stammered, flushing. He pulled back. 

Caleb stared back, eyes glassy. His lip was bloody where he’d been biting it. His hair was a ruddy halo around his head. He looked wrecked. Something feverish danced in his eyes as he pulled Fjord’s hand back onto his throat.

“I didn’t ask you to stop.” He breathed, and Fjord’s brain dropped the reins for a little bit.

Caleb’s hand returned to his hair, too tight and not tight enough as Fjord fucked into him. His teeth found their way back to Caleb’s neck. His thrusts were starting to lose their rhythm a bit when Caleb clamped down on him suddenly, back arching. He came with a choked-off gasp that Fjord wanted to remember forever. And Fjord, Fjord was so close, he bent Caleb nearly in half, burying himself as deep as he could and came. 

He caught himself on Caleb’s chest, breathing like he’d run a marathon. Caleb’s legs flopped to the side, trembling. He was breathless too. He carded his hands gently through Fjord’s sweaty hair. Something akin to sadness pinched at his sinuses, and Fjord rubbed his face against Caleb’s bony sternum to chase it away. He couldn’t remember the last time he gotten to do _this._ Be held by someone. Be _cared_ for. Caleb pulled a blanket over them one-handed, and he let the darkness take him. 

 

When he woke again the moon was out in full. His cock was achingly hard. Caleb was tucked into him, warm and drowsy. It was a simple thing to part his legs and slip his cock inside that wet heat. Caleb patted at his face, still clumsy and boneless with sleep. Fjord thrust slowly, so slowly. When he came he let himself stay inside Caleb, drifting back to sleep warm and sated.

 

It was late, or maybe early, when he woke to a cold wind swirling around his cock.

“Fuck!” He cried in surprise as Caleb’s _prestidigitation_ spell dispelled. He felt uncomfortably awake.

“Sorry! Sorry.” Caleb held his hands up placatingly. He was.. laughing?

“Hnn!” Fjord managed, articulately. Caleb was definitely laughing.

“I’m sorry to startle you,” he managed finally, hiding his grin with his forearm. “I just wanted to clean you up so I could do this.”

He studiously took Fjord’s cock in his mouth, and really, Fjord had always considered himself to be a forgiving man. He let a heavy hand come to rest on Caleb’s head, felt the vibrations through his cock as Caleb hummed in appreciation. He stroked the wizard’s hair without really being aware he was doing it. There was something enchantingly alien about him, more so even than Yasha who never had more than one foot on this plane at any given time. Humans could be like that, he reflected. You could root them out, toss them to the wind, and they’d settle like barnacles where they’d landed. Caleb, for all his hesitancies, was putting down roots in their little group. The thought warmed him like a glowing fire. He cradled Caleb’s head in his hands, filled with fondness. Caleb looked up from his work questioningly, but didn’t stop. His steady hands tugged and twisted in time with his mouth, bobbing up and down on his shaft. When he came, Caleb swallowed his come easily. Fjord collapsed backwards and blinked the stars out of his eyes. 

Caleb sat back, looking supremely pleased with himself.

“My turn.” He said roughly, nudging Caleb up the bed. Caleb went, eyes wide.

Fjord stroked Caleb’s abdomen, pressing him down with a large green hand. He didn’t feel particularly monstrous or strong but he liked how pale Caleb was under his hand. The scent of Caleb was nearly driving him wild, thick and musty in his nostrils. Fjord spared a moment to sniff along along the crease of his thigh, breathing in. Caleb squirmed.

“Fjord, that tickles stop –“ His voice went weak and breathy as Fjord licked a stripe up his cock with a heavy tongue. “Stop messing around down there.”

“Is this more like it?” Fjord took his cock deep in his mouth, keeping his eyes on Caleb’s face all the while. Caleb averted his gaze. 

“Yes, good, you’re – ahh – very clever.” Caleb swore in Zemnian and pulled Fjord’s head in even closer. His legs spread invitingly. Fjord complied, crowding him in. His shoulders tucked in behind Caleb’s knees. He held his hips down with a forearm, partly because Caleb clearly liked being manhandled but also to keep him from bucking up into Fjord’s throat. He wasn’t as good as this as he’d like to be. 

Caleb flinched a little as a fang caught on delicate skin. Fjord slowed his pace, taking more care than before. He drew back, suckled the tip, let his hand do more of the work. This gave him a better angle on Caleb’s face and he watched him, enchanted. Caleb had one hand fisted tight in his own hair and had his teeth closed around knuckle of the other. He seemed on the edge of unraveling entirely. Fjord found the oil and clumsily coated his fingers. Caleb’s whole body shivered when he slid two fingers into him. Fjord made a come-hither motion with his fingers and Caleb arched up into it, sliding deeper into Fjord’s mouth. This time he was ready for it. Caleb grew more and more frantic with each pass, thrusting into Fjord’s mouth and grinding down onto his fingers.

Caleb, so quiet, so careful, let out a cry as he came, overwhelmed by sensation. Fjord wanted to swallow the sound and keep it inside him forever. Instead he merely drew up next to Caleb and held him close.

“CALEB ARE YOU ALRIGHT YOU CAN RESPOND TO THIS MESSAGE.” Nott’s voice came shrieking through Fjord’s head. He pawed grumpily at Caleb’s face, trying to turn it off. Caleb replied, probably.

“YOU’D BETTER BE.” Nott shrieked back, half comfort and half warning. He buried his face in Caleb’s back, grumbling.

 

“I should go get some water.” Caleb sighed, later. He heaved himself into a sitting position.

“What?” Fjord pulled him closer instinctively. “No! You should just – stay here. With me.” Caleb seemed nonplussed.

“No, just wait and I’ll do it.” Fjord was starting to feel a little desperate. “Or, I’ll come with you. We can go together.”

“You are going to put your clothes on and leave with me, like this.” Caleb looked at him with extreme doubt. “There is something a little crazy going on behind your eyes. People will notice.”

Caleb disguised himself as a less well-fucked version of himself and slipped out the door. Fjord spent the next five minutes pacing. _He should never have let Caleb leave by himself. What if something happened? He was squishy, and bad at close quarters fighting, and Crownsguard tended to look at him funny and this was a terrible idea-_ He spent the five minutes after that anxiously peering down the hallway from a crack in the door. 

 

When Caleb came back - _finally_ \- Fjord pulled him into the room and locked it tight behind him. He took the tray from Caleb’s hands and thrust it brusquely onto the side table. A lantern tumbled to the floor. Fjord patted Caleb down, checking for injury.

“Fjord, I’m _fine,_ ” He insisted, laughing. “No one tried to kill me on the way to the kitchens.”

Fjord drew him close and hugged him tightly.

“I missed you.” Caleb hesitated before patting him on his back awkwardly.

“I missed you too, big guy.” He was relaxing slowly into the hug by inches. 

Fjord maneuvered him back towards the bed. He didn’t smell like anyone else, which was good but – he pushed Caleb onto all fours and grabbed the oil – he didn’t smell much like Fjord either. He would have to fix that. Caleb tolerated his poking and prodding with good grace, though he didn’t start moaning until Fjord’s tongue sunk into him. With one hand oiled and pulling at his cock and another twisting inside him, Caleb looked more relaxed than Fjord had seen him yet. All the tension in his shoulders was gone, and that habitual frown was replaced with something almost peaceful.

His expression became closer to rapturous when Fjord pushed the head of his cock in. 

“You have no idea – _oh_ – how good that feels.” Caleb groaned as he slid all the way home.

“You’ll have to show me some time.” Fjord laughed, biting along the line of his neck. The tilt of Caleb's head looked contemplative.

“I could probably arrange that, _ja_.” 

After that they didn’t speak for a while, only bitten off-moans and muttered curses. Fjord ended up blanketing Caleb’s entire body while he thrust his hips. He managed to get a hand into the tented space beneath Caleb’s canted up hips to awkwardly jerk him off. Caleb came grabbing Fjord’s hair in one hand, pulling him even closer. An almost violent energy swept through Fjord as Caleb came in splatters all of the blanket. He pulled Caleb down on his cock by the shoulder and pounded in to him, lost to the heat in his blood, his balls slapped heavy and full against Caleb’s ass. It was a relief when he came.

“Gods, I think I love you.” He pressed his face in Caleb’s neck, out of breath and satisfied at last, at least for the moment.

“You shouldn’t say things you don’t mean.” Caleb laughed, a little muffled, reaching back to ruffle his hair. Fjord had to go over the words a couple time to be sure he’d got the meaning right. He shifted over to get a look at his face.

“Caleb I – I really like you.” He frowned. 

“Okay.” Caleb smiled sadly.

“No, I really – fuck.” He pulled away from Caleb and rolled off the bed. Hitting the ground hurt a little more than he expected, but he persisted. He had a point to make. “I mean it. If it’ll make you believe me I won’t touch you again until this is over.”

A voice in his brain screamed _what?_ at him but he refused to be dissuaded. This was too important, _Caleb_ was too important to let this be just contractual.

“Fjord, you don’t have to –“ Caleb cut himself off. “I want to do this for you. It doesn't have to be a whole.. thing.”

“I want it to be a whole thing” Fjord said stubbornly from the floor. 

Caleb came over and sat on the floor next to him. Fjord dug his nails into his thighs to keep from reaching out for him.

“Are you being serious with me right now?” He asked solemnly, all his attention on Fjord’s face.

“Of course I am.” He struggled to pick a tone that would convince Caleb the most. “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. You’re funny and you’re beautiful and I want to be with you. I’ve always wanted to be with you.” 

“You know I am not –“ Caleb hesitated. “I am not good at being with people. You can do better than me.”

And Caleb looked so sad that Fjord couldn’t hold himself together any longer – he took his face in his hands and kissed him tenderly. Caleb took his hand, gave a shuddering little breath. 

“Okay.” Caleb kissed him. “ _Liebling._ ”


End file.
